John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The amendments before the House are largely of a technical nature and are necessitated by local law requirements. They do not impact on the Northern Ireland order in council that was recently passed by both Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

The Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 provides for an aquaculture licence regime in Ireland, although it does not apply in the Foyle area. These amendments take account of the fact it is possible that licences may be issued in the Louth area under the 1997 Act at the same time as provisions concerning aquaculture in this legislation are commenced. Aquaculture licences issued under the 1997 Act do not take effect for a period of one month from the date of publication of the decision to grant a licence. This is to allow persons aggrieved by the decision to appeal. The purpose of amendment No. 1 is to ensure this one-month period is retained so the right of an aggrieved person to appeal licensing decisions in regard to the Louth area is respected.

Amendment No. 2 ensures the appeals provision of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 will apply in the case of licences issued under the Act at the time of commencement of this legislation. On commencement of this legislation, licences issued under the 1997 Act are deemed to be licences issued by the Commission under this Bill. This amendment provides that in an instance where the one-month period for making an appeal is still ongoing after the commencement of this legislation and an appeal is made against the decision to grant the licence, the appeal shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the 1997 Act.

Amendments Nos. 3 and 4 are technical consequential amendments to take account of changes to the numbering as a result of the insertion of the new subsection (2) by amendment No. 2.

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